-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Sawyer Jones kept asking if the tigers could get out of their enclosure . The 3-year-old boy was with his family at the San Francisco Zoo on Tuesday to enjoy a brisk holiday morning with the animals .

A tiger dozes in the sun as Matthew Jones poses with his son Sawyer during their zoo visit Tuesday .

Sawyer 's father , Matthew Jones , said he was sure the tigers could n't escape from their zoo exhibit . He never could have guessed it would really happen . Just a day after a tiger mauled one person to death and injured two others at the zoo , the elder Jones , of Menlo Park , California , was in shock .

`` I assured him they could n't , '' Matthew Jones said . `` I felt no reason for concern . I 'm very curious to find out how the animal got out . ''

The family visited the zoo Tuesday morning and left before 1 p.m. . The coincidence was unsettling .

`` We could n't believe that we were there just a few hours earlier , '' Matthew Jones said .

The deceased victim has been identified as 17-year-old Carlos Sousa of San Jose , California , the San Francisco medical examiner 's office said Wednesday .

Matthew Jones said that after many trips to zoos around the country , he thought this zoo was `` perfectly adequate '' and saw nothing odd about it . He also thought it was highly unlikely that a huge tiger would be able to climb out of the enclosure .

View CNN.com readers ' photos of the tiger exhibit ''

Other zoo visitors were n't so sure . Jina S. , of San Jose , is questioning the nervous jokes she used to make about the tigers trying to jump out .

Jina said she had always felt slightly uneasy about the pit surrounding the exhibit . She and her husband made comments about the tigers in the enclosure during their December 1 visit .

`` When we were there , we were discussing how it was n't much of a stretch that they could jump over that gap , '' she said . `` We were joking at the time , and it 's horrible it happened to -LSB- Sousa -RSB- . ''

But Jen Williams of Hollister , California , said she felt safe during her June 2007 visit and did n't think the animals could jump over anything . She says that keeping animals in zoos brings some risk to what is generally a safe environment .

`` It 's always scary when you go someplace where there 's large animals in captivity , '' she said .

Steven Arnold of Mountain View , California , echoed Williams ' sentiments and said tigers are wild animals that can do wild things , even in captivity . He has been going to the zoo for years and said he always thought it was theoretically possible for the tigers to escape their exhibit .

`` They 're pretty spectacular animals when you see them up close , '' Arnold said . `` They 're huge . They do n't remind you much of a house cat when you 're seeing them up close . ''

As at several other zoos , patrons are invited to watch the tigers get meaty meals . Arnold describes the feedings as `` a big spectacle '' where visitors can get fairly close to the animals . Tigers ' animal instincts become more apparent at these events , he said .

'' -LSB- Zookeepers -RSB- feed them raw meat , '' Arnold said . `` They definitely give you the impression of being wild animals . ''

Reflecting on the mauling , Williams said she will continue to go see the animals and added that she 's observed that renovations go on all the time .

`` I guess it 's just a risk you take , but it 's very sad . '' E-mail to a friend

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Siberian tiger escapes pen at San Francisco Zoo on Tuesday

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One killed , two injured after escape

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Readers share stories of visiting zoo ; one visit was on the same day

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